Barbour County, West Virginia
Barbour County is a county located in north-central West Virginia. At the 2010 census, the population was 16,589. The county seat is Philippi, which was chartered in 1844. Both county and city were named for Philip Pendleton Barbour (1783–1841), a U.S. Congressman from Virginia and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The county was formed in 1843http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvcounties.html when the region was still part of the state of Virginia. In 1871, a small part of Barbour County was transferred to Tucker County, West Virginia. The Battle of Philippi, also known as the "Philippi Races", was fought in Barbour County on June 3, 1861. Although a minor action, it is generally considered the first land engagement of the American Civil War. Alderson Broaddus University, an American Baptist institution, is located in the county. The University's Physician Assistant (PA) program is one of the oldest and best established in the world. History Settlement and formation The first white settlement in present-day Barbour County was established in 1780 by Richard Talbott — along with his brother Cotteral and sister Charity — about three miles (5 km) downriver from the future site of Philippi.The Talbotts settled at the mouth of Hacker's Creek. Maxwell, Hu (1899), The History of Barbour County, From its Earliest Exploration and Settlement to the Present Time, The Acme Publishing Company, Morgantown, W.Va.. (Reprinted, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, W.Va., 1968.), pg 473. At this time the region was still a part of Monongalia County, Virginia. The region had had no permanent Indian settlements and so conflicts with Native Americans were relatively infrequent in the early days. Nevertheless, the Talbotts were obliged to leave their homestead several times for safety and twice found it necessary to retreat back east of the Alleghenies, returning each time. No member of this eventually large family was ever killed by Indian attacks.Maxwell, Op. cit., pg 474. Over time, parts of the future Barbour County were included in Harrison, Lewis, and Randolph Counties. Barbour County itself was finally and definitively formed in 1843 and named for the late Virginia politician and jurist Philip Pendleton Barbour (1783–1841). (Barbour had served as a U.S. Congressman from Virginia, Speaker of the House, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.) The settlement of Philippi — formerly "Anglin's Ford" and "Booth's Ferry" — was platted, named, and made the county seat in the same year; it was chartered in 1844. By the 1850s, when a major covered bridge was constructed at Philippi to service travellers on the Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike, the County's population was approaching 10,000 people. Civil War Philippi was the scene of the first land battle of the American Civil War, on June 3, 1861. The battle was later lampooned as the "Philippi Races" because of the hurried retreat by the Confederate troops encamped in the town. The battle is reenacted every June during the town's 'Blue and Gray Reunion.' At daylight on June 3, two columns of Union forces under the command of Col. Benjamin Franklin Kelley and Col. Ebenezer Dumont, with perhaps 3,000 men, arrived from Grafton and attacked about 800 poorly armed Confederate recruits under the command of Col. George A. Porterfield. The Union troops had marched all night through a heavy rain storm to arrive just before daylight. The surprise attack awakened the sleeping Confederates. After firing a few shots at the advancing Union troops, the Southerners broke lines and began running frantically to the south, some still in their bed clothes. The Union victory in a relatively bloodless battle propelled the young Major General George B. McClellan into the national spotlight, and he would soon be given command of all Union armies. The battle also inspired more vocal protests in the Western part of Virginia against secession. A few days later in Wheeling, the Wheeling Convention nullified the Virginia ordinance of secession and named Francis H. Pierpont governor. These events would eventually result in the separate statehood of West Virginia. Later history The economy and infrastructure in Barbour grew steadily, but slowly, through the late 19th century. Although the first railroad had reached nearby Grafton in 1852, a narrow-gauge railroad was not laid through the County until the early 1880s; a standard gauge line followed in the 1890s. In 1990, private developers offered Barbour County citizens $4M to $6M annually in host fees to accept out-of-state garbage into a County landfill over the following three decades. Up to 200,000 tons of garbage per month would be delivered."Landfill Controversy Divides Barbour County" (1990), Charleston Gazette (28 Oct issue). (At the time, the County’s annual budget was only about $1M.) County voters rejected the offer."Barbour Rejecting Landfill" (1990), Charleston Gazette, (7 Nov issue). Registered Historic Places * Belington ** Bernard E. Wilmoth House * Berryburg ** Adaland, restored home of a 19th Century lawyer * Carrollton ** Carrollton Covered Bridge * Clemtown ** Ida L. Reed Homestead * Elk City ** J. N. B. Crim House * Philippi ** Barbour County Courthouse ** Peck-Crim-Chesser House ** Philippi B & O Railroad Station ** Philippi Covered Bridge ** Philippi Historic District ** Whitescarver Hall Geography , county seat of Barbour County, West Virginia, USA. Visible are the historic Philippi Covered Bridge spanning the Tygart Valley River and the main administrative building and chapel of Alderson Broaddus University atop "Battle Hill" (upper left) overlooking the town.]] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. Barbour County is situated on the Allegheny Plateau at the western edge of the Allegheny Mountains (represented by Laurel Mountain at the County's eastern boundary). Most of the County is drained by the Tygart Valley River which traverses it from south to north and on which its three largest settlements — Philippi, Belington, and Junior — are sited. Tributaries of the Tygart in the County include Teter Creek, Laurel Creek, Hacker's Creek, the Buckhannon River and the West Fork River. A portion of the County in the west drains into the Middle Fork River, principally through Elk Creek. Audra State Park — the County's only state park — is situated on the Middle Fork in the southwest corner. Teter Creek Lake Wildlife Management Area — the County's only WMA — is located on that stream and lake in the eastern portion. All of the mentioned streams are part of the greater Monongahela River watershed. Minor civil divisions Barbour County is divided into eight magisterial districts: Barker, Cove, Elk, Glade, Philippi, Pleasant, Union and Valley. Philippi District is sub-divided into that city's four wards. The town of Belington, however, has its Wards 1 and 2 in Valley District and Wards 3 and 4 in Barker District. Major highways * U.S. Highway 119 * U.S. Highway 250 * West Virginia Route 20 * West Virginia Route 38 * West Virginia Route 57 * West Virginia Route 76 * West Virginia Route 92 Adjacent counties *Taylor County (north) *Tucker County (east) *Randolph County (southeast) *Upshur County (southwest) *Harrison County (west) *Preston County (northeast) Demographics 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2012 }} At the census of 2000, there were 15,557 people, 6,123 households, and 4,365 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile (18/km²). There were 7,348 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.36% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,123 households out of which 30.10% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.00% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,729, and the median income for a family was $29,722. Males had a median income of $24,861 versus $17,433 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,440. 22.60% of the population and 18.40% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 32.00% of those under the age of 18 and 16.70% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Economy Major employment in Barbour County is provided by health care and social service sectors, retail, education, accommodation and food services, logging and wood product manufacturing, trucking and construction. The largest employers are Alderson Broaddus University and Broaddus Hospital. Bituminous coal mining has been significant in Barbour; seven times as much tonnage has been produced from underground as by surface mining. Natural gas and oil wells provide a modest amount of employment. Wholesale lumber production (wood and wood products) is also present. (The county is a member of the West Virginia Hardwood Alliance Zone.) There is notable production of eggs and horse raising, but the major agricultural products are livestock, forage, dairy foods and orchard fruits. Communities Cities and towns *Town of Belington *Town of Junior *City of Philippi Below is partial listing of known unincorporated communities within Barbour County. A complete listing is available here Unincorporated communities Notable natives and residents *Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis (1832–1905), social activist who — along with her daughter Anna Marie Jarvis (1864–1948) — is credited with founding Mother's Day, lived in the county for several years *William Smith O'Brien (Congressman) (1862-1948), born at Audra *Ida Lilliard Reed (1865–1951), hymn writer *Ted Cassidy (1932–79), actor who played Lurch and "Thing" on the 1960s TV show The Addams Family *Larry Groce (b. 1948), noted singer and songwriter, lived near Galloway in the late 1980s See also * Barbour County Schools * USS Barbour County (LST-1195) * National Register of Historic Places listings in Barbour County, West Virginia References Citations Other sources *''Barbour County West Virginia...Another Look'' (1979), Compiled by The Barbour County Historical Society, Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, TX and Paoli, PA. *Coonts, Violet Gadd (2nd ed, May 1991), The Western Waters: Early Settlers of Eastern Barbour County, West Virginia, Assisted by Gilbert Gray Coonts and Harold Cart Gadd, Published by Stephen P. Coonts, Denver, CO. *Coffman, Mary Stemple and Ethel Park Stemple (1978), Footsteps of Our Fathers: Early Settlers of Tacy (Barbour County) W. Va.; Baltimore. *''Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, Illustrated: Containing large scale copper plate Maps of Each State and Territory of the United States, and the Provinces of Canada ... Special History of the Virginias, Maps and Histories of Lewis, Upshur and Barbour Counties, West Virginia ...'' Volume 4 of the series published by H.H. Hardesty, 1883, 391 pages. (Reprint edition edited by Jim Comstock; Subsequent reprint by Wes Cochran. Contains a brief history of Barbour County and biographical sketches of its citizens.) *Mattaliano, Jane K. and Lois G. Omonde (1994), Milestones: A Pictorial History of Philippi, West Virginia, 1844-1994, Virginia Beach, Virginia: The Donning Company Publishers. *Myers, Karl or Elmer (ca. 1935), One-Room Schoolhouses, 1 min. home movie of one-room Barbour County schoolhouses; West Virginia State Archives (Available on DVD set Treasures from American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films, 2000). *Shaffer, John W. (2003), Clash of Loyalties: A Border County in the Civil War, Morgantown, West Virginia: West Virginia University Press. *Shingleton, George A. (1976), History of Mt. Morris School, Church and Cove District, Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Printing Company. *Smith, Barbara and Carl Briggs (2000), Barbour County (Series: Images of America), Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC. *Zinn, W.D. (1931), The Story of Woodbine Farm, Buckhannon, West Virginia: Kent Reger, Job Printer. (A detailed account of life and work on a Barbour County Run farm in the late-19th/early-20th centuries.) External links *Barbour County history sources at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History *Barbour County Economic Development Authority *Barbour County Schools *Barbour County Fair Association *WVGenWeb Barbour County *Animal Friends of Barbour County - A No-Kill Shelter Category:Barbour County, West Virginia Category:Counties of West Virginia Category:1843 establishments in the United States Category:Settlements established in 1843 Category:Counties of Appalachia